span

lapso, intervalo

Período breve de tiempo o distancia pequeña.

En inglés sencillo: A short amount of time or a small distance.

• His attention span is short.
• A lot happened in that brief span of time.
• The two windows are separated by a narrow span of wall.

Cómo se usa: a span of something (The changes happened within a span of three days.)

Sinónimos: interval, stretch

Expresiones frecuentes: attention span, a short span, span of time

palmo

Distancia entre las puntas del pulgar y del meñique con la mano bien abierta.

En inglés sencillo: The distance between your thumb and little finger when your hand is stretched open.

• The bowl is one span wide.
• He measured the board using the span of his hand.
• Her hand has a larger span than mine.

Sinónimos: handspan

Expresiones frecuentes: a hand span, span of something, one span wide

palmo

Antigua medida de longitud basada en la mano abierta; en Inglaterra equivalía tradicionalmente a unos 23 centímetros.

En inglés sencillo: An old unit of length based on an open hand, traditionally about twenty-three centimetres in England.

• An English span equals nine inches.
• The old record gives the length in spans.
• The cloth measured three spans across.

Sinónimos: handspan

Expresiones frecuentes: an English span, one span long, two span lengths

cruzar, salvar

Extenderse de un lado al otro de un hueco o espacio abierto.

En inglés sencillo: To reach from one side of a gap or open space to the other.

• A bridge spans the river.
• The fallen tree spanned the narrow stream.
• Two stone arches span the entrance.

Sinónimos: cross, bridge, stretch across

Expresiones frecuentes: span a river, span the gap, span a valley

abarcar, extenderse

Extenderse por toda una zona o a lo largo de una distancia completa.

En inglés sencillo: To spread over the whole of an area or distance.

• The park spans fifty acres.
• Their farms span a large area of the valley.
• The railway network spans the entire country.

Sinónimos: cover, extend over, stretch across

Expresiones frecuentes: span three acres, span an area, span several miles

medir a palmos

Medir algo con la mano abierta o rodeándolo con los dedos.

En inglés sencillo: To measure something using the width of your open hand or your fingers around it.

• She spanned the board with her hand.
• He spanned the cylinder with his fingers.
• They spanned the distance instead of using a ruler.

Cómo se usa: span something with something (He spanned the board with his outstretched hand.)

Sinónimos: measure by hand

Expresiones frecuentes: span a distance, span a cylinder, span with something